Gordon Monahan's works for piano, loudspeakers, video, kinetic sculpture and computer-controlled sound environments hybridize various genres from science, music, performance art and avant-garde concert music to multimedia installation and sound art. As a composer and sound artist, he juxtaposes the quantitative and qualitative aspects of natural acoustical phenomena with elements of media technology, environment, architecture, popular culture and live performance.

He is currently showing at the Doris McCarthy Gallery at UT Scarborough and at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie. These are the first in a series of exhibitions for Seeing Sound: Sound Art, Performance, and Music 1978-2011, a thirty-three year overview of this internationally renowned sound and multimedia artist. The book launch for Seeing Sound will be at Art Metropole in Toronto on Saturday May 7 from 1 to 3 pm.

1. Marla Hlady

Set To Set is the title of Marla Hlady's new solo exhibition at Jessica Bradley Art + Projects. It features more in her series of small interactive sound packages - in this case, wooden boxes that you pick up and move to activate sound playback. Another piece is a video work documenting the slow movement of crumpled paper bags that are attached to amplified wires. As a sound artist myself I’m always into keeping up with others working in the field and I find that Hlady does pretty interesting stuff.

2. Dick Hyman

Dick Hyman started out in the 1950s playing piano with Charlie Parker. In the 60s he pioneered the groovy organ sound when he played on Enoch Light’s records. He was one of the first pop musicians to put out Moog synthesizer records. He has done almost all of Woody Allen’s film soundtracks. He’ll be playing two sets with Peter Appleyard at the Old Mill Inn on March 28 from 7:30 to 10:30 pm (see his website for details).

3. Memento Mori/Bone Again

At Art Mûr in Montreal, from March 12 to April 23. A group show featuring artworks using skulls and bones. (Disclaimer: my partner Laura Kikauka is in the show.)

4. Meaford by the Bay

If you need to get out of town this summer, try driving up to Meaford. Enjoy some camping, swimming and outdoor activities in and around this idyllic southern Ontario harbour town on the west coast of Georgian Bay. If you’re going to make this trip, circle the weekend of July 29 to 31 on your calendar. This is the annual Electric Eclectics Festival featuring three days of camping, concerts, media installations, and all night dancing at the Funny Farm outside of Meaford. Camping is included free with the ticket price.

5. Loud Objects

Another one of my sound art favourites, the Loud Objects from New York solder together a sound circuit from scratch on an overhead projector while amplifying the circuit live on a PA system. They’ll be making a return appearance at Electric Eclectics either this year or next. Tristan Perich of Loud Objects won the Prix Ars Electronica a couple of years back.